WORLD soccer governing body FIFA on Monday banned Nepal’s soccer chief for 10 years and the president of the Laos federation for two years for bribery.

    The decade-long sanction against Ganesh Thapa, president of the All-Nepal Football Association, was a new blow to the country’s soccer image after several national players were accused of match-fixing.

    Thapa stood down as a soccer chief one year ago amid an investigation into accusations that he embezzled millions of dollars during his 19-year tenure.

    Thapa “committed various acts of misconduct over several years, including the solicitation and acceptance of cash payments from another football official, for both personal and family gain,” said a FIFA statement without giving details.

    FIFA’s ethics committee said Thapa had specifically been bribed over elections for the FIFA executive committee in 2009 and 2011.

    Thapa said in a statement he was “disappointed” by the decision and would “follow the necessary steps to establish my innocence.” On top of the ban, he was fined 20,000 Swiss francs (US$19,850) by the ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber.

    Nepal’s national team captain, Sagar Thapa, and four other players have been charged with treason over alleged match-fixing in World Cup qualifiers. Prosecutors have sought life jail terms for the five who have denied the charges.(SD-Agencies)